A Reckless Soul
by TheEliteLabRatsLover
Summary: Barry has been a lot more reckless lately, and quite frankly, Oliver's getting tired of it.


**Hello! I hope y'all are having a _fabulous_ day. I got a story coming at ya' that was inspired by this wonderful prompt by this lovely guest named Flarrow. Your reviews absolutely made my day and this is the least I could do to repay you!**

_**Oliver and Barry get into a fight, Oliver says something, storm off then a cute bff ending or an angst hurt - preferably option 2 ;) - or a mixture of both.**_

**Disclaimer: I own none of this ;)**

* * *

"You are an idiot."

Barry's head jerked up at those words, and he immediately regretted it as the world spun precariously. He winced, the stitches on his neck stretching with the sudden movement.

"...What?" Oliver stared at him from his position in the doorway. He stood there, casually leaning against the doorframe, but the tension in the room spoke volumes more than any false pretense of calmness.

"You are, a grade A, idiot." Barry sighed, leaning back on the makeshift hospital bed that Caitlin had hurriedly set up on the floor of the Arrow Cave.

"I think the words you're looking for are maybe, 'hey Barry, thanks for saving my hide back there'," He joked, trying to keep the mood light but by the muscle that tensed in Oliver's jaw at the words, he guessed his attempts failed.

He was suddenly wishing Caitlin, Cisco and Felicity hadn't decided to leave him to get some rest.

Ah, yes, that was their excuse.

Truthfully they'd just all seen Oliver brooding in the entrance of the room and decided to abandon Barry and make him suffer alone.

Oliver shifted, standing to his full height and crossing his arms. He looked down, and Barry prepared himself for the argument that was sure to come. He was only slightly taken aback by the look in Oliver's eyes when he looked back up.

"You almost died out there today," His voice was low, and the words that were meant to be a reminder of the close call they'd both experienced earlier on that day, had Barry's fingertips subconciously rising to the healing scar on his throat.

He grinned ruefully, with a small shrug.

"All part of the job," Barry said quietly, jovially almost. Even though, they both knew he didn't mean it.

_How could anyone mean it?_

And by the waves of tension radiating off of Oliver, he knew his words hadn't been taken the right way.

"Don't you dare-"

"Dare what?"

"Make jokes." Oliver ground out. He opened his mouth to say something, before shutting it again, instead choosing to take Barry under his scrutinizing gaze. Barry shifted uncomfortably, un-eased by the chilling tone in Oliver's voice.

"You _have_ to _understand_," His voice grew louder with each word, as he stepped closer and Barry sat up straight, ready to face the fight that stood in front of him. "That you are _not_ in Central city anymore, Barry! You can't just run in and save the day without thinking here!" Oliver said, voice rising an octave with every word.

He tensed his jaw, and Barry felt an indignance build in his chest at the accusing words. "That kind of reckless behavior will kill you here," Barry scoffed.

"Oh yeah? Well, it seems to me that my _reckless_ behavior saved your life today. So maybe instead of yelling at me, you should-"

"Yeah, and at what cost?"

"I heal fast." Barry stated, anger at having been cut off lacing his words. Okay, maybe he wasn't really angry but his throat was throbbing, his eyes were burning and he was really just too exhausted to deal with Oliver's anger and righteousness right now.

Oliver stared at him, exasperated. Barry sighed. "Look, Ollie, you were going to die. I wasn't about to let that happen-"

"You don't get to make that decision," Oliver said coolly, and this time, it was Barry's turn to stare at him in exasperation.

"Seriously? Because you didn't really have the time to make that decision yourself. If I hadn't distracted her, she would have cut your head clean off! I have this ability for a reason and I'm going to save people no matter what. Especially the people I care about."

"There were other ways to stop her!" Oliver yelled back, and Barry's jaw clenched. "You don't have to throw yourself in the line of fire every time someone's in danger! You _have_ to think things through-"

"Oh, so just let her decapitate you next time then?" Barry suggested and Oliver simply stared at him.

"I will _not _let another person I care about die to save me. I _won't_, Barry," Oliver's voice turned low and raw and Barry ignored the pang of emotion that hit his heart.

"Yeah. And I won't let anymore of my friends die when I could have stopped it, Oliver. So I guess we both just gotta' deal, right?" This time it was Barry's voice that turned icy. He hadn't even realized he'd stood up until his legs suddenly felt wobbly beneath all of his weight. He clenched his teeth, refusing to reveal any weakness.

He would not let Oliver win this.

"Well, maybe, Barry, if you had thought things through, none of those people would have died." Oliver spoke, voice barely above a whisper.

But that was all it took to deliver that fatal blow. His mouth fell open slowly, shock making him practically immobile.

Speechless.

_How could he..._

Oliver turned away, never once looking back before he walked out of the room. No remorse. No more anger.

Just cold, hard truth.

At least, in Oliver's mind apparently.

It was at this moment that Barry's legs finally gave out.

A crash echoed through out the empty room, but Barry felt numb. He didn't feel the stitches on his neck open or the blood that trickled down his collarbone.

He didn't feel anything.

He only heard those words repeated, over, and over.

_It's my fault._

He'd always believed it. He'd always known it.

And now Oliver believes it, too.

And so he did the only thing he could possibly comprehend doing.

He broke down.

* * *

_How could he say that?_

No, no, don't think like that.

_You had to._

He needs to learn.

Oliver halted at the sound of muffled crying from the room he just exited. He closed his eyes, with a quiet sigh. He'd go find Caitlin and tell her. She'd comfort Barry.  
If he went back and apologized, it would take away from the point he was trying to drive home. No matter how much he wanted to.

He needed to get the point across.

Damn it, he _had _to.

He still couldn't shake the image of Barry lying there on the ground.

_Gurgling_ on his own _blood_.

Memories of Oliver's hands being slickened with crimson as he pleaded because _there's too much blood, Barry, don't do this, Barry, please-_

God, there was so much blood.

If it wasn't for his powers he would have bled out in Oliver's arms.

And yes, Oliver was too harsh. But how can he teach the kid that his life matters, too? But that's what being a hero was. Making the sacrifice for the greater good no matter the cost.

And that's exactly what Barry was.

A hero.

* * *

Thank God, he had managed to collect himself before Caitlin found him.

Apparently Oliver wasn't completely heartless.

But he also didn't care enough to deal with the mess he made himself, so he sent Caitlin in his place.

_No, don't say that. You deserved those words._

_After all, wouldn't Ronnie still be here if you had thought things through first? You could have saved him._

_You _should_ have saved him._

He suddenly found it very hard to look at Caitlin as she re-stitched the cut on his neck.

"I'm fine, really," Barry started, voice gravelly from the damage the wound had caused. At least, that's what he told himself. "It's practically healed, anyway," Caitlin snorted, not once taking her eyes off of her work. She'd gotten pretty good at stitching him up by now.

"Barry. It's still bleeding even now. You lost a lot of blood earlier; you aren't gonna' just bounce right back from that. Your body is too busy trying to produce more blood to focus on the outer damage," She paused, giving him the patented _Doctor Caitlin_ look that Cisco called it.

"If you would stop getting in these predicaments we wouldn't have to worry about this," Barry glanced up, misjudging her concern for disappointment. He looked down, swallowing hard.

Apparently everyone thought he was too reckless.

* * *

_22 hours later_

Oliver had managed to avoid Barry for almost an entire day.

They kept their distance, each one not knowing quite what to say to the other. And quite frankly, Oliver would rather have it that way.

He didn't know how he could face Barry after saying the things he had.

But, as fate would have it, they were forced to be in the same room together, and even fight next to each other once again.

The same predicament that had led to their argument.

Ignoring the wounded look on Barry's face as he walked into the room, not even acknowledging the other man's presence, he went straight to the desk where Cisco and Felicity were both seated.

"What do we got?" Felicity spun around, an exasperated sigh leaving her lips.

"We got another bank robber thinking he owns the city. When will they learn?" She drawled out, in mock disappointment. Oliver couldn't help the grin that found it's way onto his face.

"Actually," Cisco cut in. "It appears that we have three bank robbers. Good news, though, none of them seem to have superpowers." He paused, "Well, at least they haven't used them yet?"

Oliver rolled his eyes.

"Alright," He looked over to Barry, who mirrored the expression Oliver had. Saving people always comes first. No matter their differences right now, the city needed saving.

And they were the only ones to do it.

But Barry was off of his game. He was still recovering from yesterday's attack.

Maybe more emotionally than physically.

He knew what he said next would be taken the wrong way and he knew as sure as anything that it would tick Barry off. But he was willing to take that chance.

"Barry, maybe you should sit this one out,"

You could have heard a pin drop.

"..Excuse me?"

Oliver inhaled.

"You heard me." Barry scoffed.

"Oliver, we don't have time to discuss this. I'm going."

"Actually," Caitlin piped up, and all heads turned towards the new arrival. She sighed. "I agree with Oliver." Barry couldn't look anymore hurt than he did at that moment.

"What?"

"You're still recovering, Barry. Oliver can handle it. Right?" He nodded.

"I'll be back before you know it," He declared, grabbing his bow and heading to the exit. He did his best to ignore the hurt- pleading - tone in Barry's voice as he yelled back to him.

Trying to change all of their minds.

But the choice was made.

He only hoped to God it was the right one.

* * *

Barry couldn't believe this.

How could they?

Was he seriously that reckless and irresponsible that his own _team_ was turning against him now?

He eventually had resigned to his fate, and sunk into the nearest chair in the Arrow Cave; concern for his friend overriding his urge to just _run_.

"Alright, Oliver, you there?" Felicity asked, and Barry distantly heard Oliver's muffled reply. Even though he was only half-heartedly listening in.

"Okay, that's good. You're gonna' want to head in from the back. Catch them from surprise," Cisco chimed in, and Barry continued twirling the pen between his fingers.

"I'm not getting any signals of Dark Matter from them so if I'm correct, I'm assuming these are just your everyday nut jobs thinking they can make a living off of a criminal lifestyle," Felicity added.

Barry sighed.

This was...

Ridiculous.

He was perfectly fine. Physically, at least.

Which was what their excuse had been. And since that was obviously not true, the only thing left was that they didn't trust him to make the right decision. Which, in all honesty, stung.

He was brought out of his thoughts when Cisco immediately jumped up and they both went on high alert; their voices rising in pitch as they yelled at Oliver.

"Oliver, get out of there!"

"There's more gunmen than we thought, you have to get out of there!"

Barry was out of his chair and speeding out of the room before they could even notice he was gone.

* * *

_Shit._

That was the only thought running through Oliver's head as he came face to face with at least twelve gunmen.

There was no way he could get out of this mess.

He didn't even have time to fully process what was happening before they started firing. He could only vaguely hear the crackle of gunfire and the concerned voices yelling his ear as he tried to figure out what to do.

Or if there was even anything he _could_ do.

But suddenly, with a jolt, he wasn't looking at the masked gunmen anymore.

Instead, he was staring down an empty alleyway, completely alone.

His breaths came in jerks, shock rolling over him as he looked at his empty surroundings. A rush of wind almost knocked him to the side, and he turned to stare at the red-cladded man next to him, leaning against the wall.

He was panting, but all Oliver could do was stare at him in a daze. He wasn't supposed to be here. How did he get here so Fast?

No, wait, never mind that.

Of course, he came.

He watched dumbly, as Barry looked down, removing the hand he cradled to his chest, revealing blood coated fingers. He blinked, slightly surprised, before looking back at Oliver.

"So," He began, "Slight problem-" His voice trailed off as his eyes rolled back into his head and Oliver barely had time to catch him before he collapsed to the ground below.

* * *

Oh God.

_Not again._

There was too much blood.

He couldn't do this again, not after yesterday, _not so soon_-

He felt detached from himself as he placed his hands over the holes in his friend's chest.

_Holes._

There were so many, there was no way could survive this. He _knew_ it.

But he had to _try_.

"_-on their way,_"

"_-just keep pressure-_" He heard the voices but they didn't register.

Wait, were his hands _trembling?_

No.

The Green Arrow didn't get scared.

_But Oliver Queen did._

But he wasn't Oliver right now, and he couldn't afford to be. Not with his teammate bleeding out on the ground before him.

_His friend._

He didn't know how much time went by, how much _pleading_ and _begging_ \- _he didn't know if he had voiced his fears or kept them to himself, but truly, he didn't really care right now_ \- had taken place before Barry's body was being taken away from him.

No, not body.

Just Barry.

He wasn't dead yet. No, he couldn't die. That wouldn't be fair. He was just a kid, for God's sake.

He wasn't even supposed to_ be here_. And yet he came anyway.

For _him_.

He couldn't let anymore friends die for him.

_He couldn't_.

* * *

This had to be Deja Vu.

_Right?_

Barry blinked, his eyelids feeling like bricks. For the second time in two days, he was waking up inn a makeshift hospital bed on the floor of the Arrow Cave.

This wasn't exactly something he wanted to experience twice.

He shifted, intending to move onto his elbows, but fire shot through his chest and he gasped. Collapsing back onto the ground, he cried out in pain.

Or maybe in shock.

Apparently that was enough to get people's attention, because through the dull haze of his vision he noticed multiple people come running to his side. He shut his eyes tight, trying to breathe through the pain.

"_-that's it, just breathe-_"

Couldn't they see that he was _t__rying?_

He swallowed hard, biting back the nausea that threatened to climb up his esophagus and overtake the corners of his mouth.

"'M okay," He groaned, his assurances certainly weren't as convincing as he wanted. Barry slowly opened his eyes once more, focusing on the surrounding faces. Immediately,  
he noticed that one person was missing.

"Where's Oliv'r?"

Silence.

"Barry, how do you feel?" He frowned.

That wasn't an answer.

"Where is Oliver?" Noticing the exchanged glances between his teammates, his concern spiked. "Is he okay? What happened-" His words were cut off by his own pained grunt, once more trying to sit up only to fail miserably.

"Hey, hey, it's okay. Oliver's just..." Felicity hesitated. "On a walk." Barry grimaced, not convinced but also in too much pain to press it further. It would have to wait until at least some of the pain subsided.

In the meantime, he had to focus on breathing.

He'd deal with Oliver's absence later.

* * *

"Ya' know, you can't avoid me forever."

He thought he was asleep.

_He should have known better._

Oliver sighed, stopping in his attempt to leave. His back was turned, but he heard Barry shift so he was facing him.

"I mean, I'm flattered that you care enough to visit me." Barry shrugged, "But it's just a _little_ creepy that you only do it when I'm asleep." Oliver turned around, noticing now that Barry was sitting up, a grin on his face. That wasn't what caught his attention, though.

No.

It was the white bandages wrapped around his chest.

He inhaled sharply, shaking his head.

"I'm not, I'm not avoiding you,"

"Really?" Barry questioned, eyebrow raised. "Because it kinda' feels that way. It's not like, ya' know, I got shot or anything. Or that we were fighting. No reason to avoid me, _right?_" Oliver sighed, rubbing a hand over his face.

He slowly lowered himself to the floor, resigning to sitting cross legged.

He stared at Barry for a moment, and watched as a somber expression crossed over his face.

A stark contrast to the almost cheery look he had worn moments before.

"You have got to stop doing this, Barry," He stated quietly, and Barry looked down. There was silence for a moment, before Barry shrugged.

"I can't, Ollie," This time, when Barry looked back up, it almost hurt Oliver to see the pain yet sincerity in his eyes. "As long as there are bad guys out there who are going to hurt innocent people and go after the people I love, I'm going to keep fighting. You can't stop me."

He said it as if he was sorry.

Oliver huffed, softly.

"I knew you'd say that." Barry frowned. Oliver tried a different approach. "Look, I get it. I feel the same way. But Barry, if you keep acting like this, if you keep," He gestured in front of him, as if to show Barry what he meant. "_Running_ around like this, it's gonna' get you killed." Lowering his voice, he tried to catch Barry's eyes.

"I know you want to protect people. It's one of the things I admire most about you. But you can't protect people if you are dead, Barry. And did you ever think that maybe we want to protect _you_, too?" Barry glanced up, a look of almost confusion - _or was that shock?_ \- clouding his face.

Oliver paused.

He didn't want to be vulnerable, but maybe this would get Barry to see things his way.

And maybe it wouldn't.

_But it never hurt to try, right?_

"And when you do this," He began, slowly. As if he was treading dangerous waters. "I can't-I can't protect you. I don't have your abilities. I can't stop you and I can't stop the meta-humans who come after you." He scoffed, adding in a groan as he looked down and shook his head. "God, I hate feeling so helpless." Barry grinned.

"Seems to me a wise man once said that was part of the job," Barry piped in. "We can't save everyone." Oliver glanced up at him.

"I wouldn't have told you that had I known you'd use it against me." He deadpanned, and Barry chuckled.

"Ya' know," Barry began. "You're not helpless. I wouldn't even be here if it weren't for you literally saving my life back there."

"Yeah, and if it wasn't for me being helpless you wouldn't have even been there in the first place." He added in, sarcasm dripping from his tone. Barry rolled his eyes.

"Ollie, don't give me that crap." He paused, sighing quietly. "Listen, maybe I do need to take things..._slower?_" He forced the word out as if it tasted like ash and Oliver smirked. "But you've got to realize that I'm not a kid." Oliver blinked, taken aback. Barry smiled.

"I never said you were-"

"Didn't have to. Look, I appreciate you looking out for me, but that goes both ways, man. And if I see that you or anybody else in danger and there's something I can do about it? You damn well know I'm gonna' do it. After all, that's what you taught me." Oliver stared.

"Do you just have a thing for using my words against me or-" He didn't have time to finish his sentence before a pillow smacked him in the face. "You're lucky you're injured," He declared, and Barry laughed.

"Not injured enough that I can't kick your ass," He gloated.

"Maybe I should have left you in that alley," Oliver suggested and Barry barked a laugh. The moment was too short, however, and the room turned quiet once more, taking on a somber feel.

"So, we good?" Barry asked, reaching his hand out. Oliver grinned, taking his hand in his own with a firm shake.

"We're good." Barry smiled, genuinely. "And you just made a grave mistake," Oliver added, causing him to frown.

Barry barely had anytime to react before he was - _gently, of course_ \- tumbled to the ground. Laughing genuinely for the first time in two days, Barry knew things were finally okay with them.

And maybe he was a little reckless.

He most likely would always be.

But it was a good thing that he had such great friends to keep him out of getting into trouble.

Well, at least not _too_ much trouble.

* * *

**I hope you liked it! And I really hope I did your prompt justice. I know you wanted something a little different, but once I started writing it, I just couldn't stop! And don't worry, I think I'm gonna' be writing more stories like that in the future. ;)**

**Stay awesome, my loves!**


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